Tires Winter use Tires

[yooperdave]

I have been using turf tires without chains to plow my driveways for a number of years.
My driveways are pitched at least 10' over a couple of hundred feet of run.
I usually plow down hill, stay in 4wd, and try to not push my luck (no pun).
Do industrial tires offer less traction in the snow?
I see lots of people using chains and wonder if they really need them.
Just wondering what drove the use of chains?
TIA
Yooper Dave

 

[oldnslo]

My experience with industrial tires is on a skid steer and in snow they were next to worthless since the wide face and wide lugs just slide across the snow. Have no experience with industrial tires on tractors but would suspect same problem if on snow pack or ice.

 

[Rustyiron]

You seem to be getting it done as is, you know how conditions can be different with each storm and tire chains are a relatively easy fix that is not a permanent decision.

 

[k0ua]

This is why so many people have cut grooves in their Industrial tires. The extra biting surfaces pack more snow between them just like the turf tires do. Yes Industrial tires are poor in snow and mud for that matter. I have never owned any Turf tires, (only AG and Industrial) but from what I understand they are quite a bit better in snow than Industrials.

 

[RjCorazza]

I grooved the R4's on my last 2 tractors. The increased traction was certainly noticable, and I don't use chains. I road my tractor a lot, so the R4's are a good choice for my use.
I used to have the blanket opinion that turf tires are terrible in snow, but my experience with turfs was the old large diamond tread from the 80's. That particular tread pattern is horrible in snow or even wet grass for that matter (IMHO!).

 

[RoyJackson]

I've had both R3 (Turf) and R4's (Industrial). I prefer the R3 type tire for snow.
Most of the time, I don't even need 4WD...granted, I'm clearing level areas.

 

[Jchonline]

I have been using turf tires without chains to plow my driveways for a number of years.
My driveways are pitched at least 10' over a couple of hundred feet of run.
I usually plow down hill, stay in 4wd, and try to not push my luck (no pun).
Do industrial tires offer less traction in the snow?
I see lots of people using chains and wonder if they really need them.
Just wondering what drove the use of chains?
TIA
Yooper Dave

If you go R4 I recommend spikes if you are sliding around and you dont have easily damaged surfaces. It wont take many to give you adequate traction.

 

[Bavarian]

Turf tires for snow clearing. Hands down. Even over AG tires.

 

[seville009]

The benefit of chains (in my opinion) is for when you are working on non-paved areas, like pushing back snow banks or drifts on a field or grass. Basically anywhere that might be soft underneath, or where you could end up in deeper snow.

can be a benefit too if you slip off the edge of the road and need an added bite to get back up.

They give me peace of mind too when it's snowing and blowing in that I don't have to worry about getting stuck.

 

[SARG]

I've got loaded R4s in the back and 8 ply R4s in the front ...... with new chains still in the box because I've never needed them.

 

[DK35vince]

I can tell you I have R-4 tires and they are near useless pushing any amount of snow without chains.
I run chains on all 4 tire, and it makes a MASSIVE difference.
Last week we had a 12"+ snow, with chains I had no problem at all pushing a 9' snowplow.
My neighbor has turf tires, rear blade with loader bucket and was struggling bad trying to clear his 800' drive, I went over with chains on a 4, went up and down his drive pushing my front mounted 9' plow, never spun a tire.
Took me minutes to clear it.

 

[JLH4]

I run plain ladder chains loose on R4s all winter even though we don't get much snow, plowed 6" a couple of weeks ago, but with no snow there is mud. R4s fill up with mud quickly then you have racing slicks and you just sit and spin all 4 wheels.

 

[pokey1416]

Grooved R-4’s for me. Don’t need 4WD unless I’m slipping on ice underneath and tired of using the diff lock. Last winter I wasn’t grooved - I’m a firm believer! You’ll get opinions on the value of grooving.

 

[dstig1]

Up until this year I was plowing with a rear blade and have R4s. They are useless in the snow and ice. I got chains immediately and initially went with Duo style on all 4. I normally stay in 4wd in the winter. My driveway is paved but it is also fairly steep in a few sections. Even with chains, there is one bad spot where I have slid sideways for a bit when it was super icy (I call that spot the "The Point of No Return"...). The problem I had with the Duos was that the ride was beyond rough into abusive. After a few years of bouncing my head off the roof of the cab if I got going too fast, I swapped the fronts for 2-link ladder chains and the ride got tons better. I still had the Duos on the rear as they did not seem to cause as much trouble back there.

This year I modified/refurbed a Sweepster rotary broom setup (build thread in Build it Yourself subforum) and have been using that exclusively. I put the chains on the front tires, but have not needed them on the rear so far. Still in 4wd all the time. We also have not really had ice this year so far... But this seems like a good combo as you don't need the same amount of traction as when pushing with a blade.

No experience with turfs but R4s are awful in the winter. But they are also very tough which is important when I use the grapple to lift logs and get into the woods. Chains fix the traction issue in the winter and I retain the rest of the benefits of the R4s for everything else.

 

[51allis]

Yooperdave, I too live in the U.P., near Esky...I have an LS XR4046 4wd with AG tires and have yet to have any issue with traction and that might be because I use the diff lock all the time in 4wd when pushing/scooping snow on our farm spread, I have a back blade that I push along with scraping backwards on the bucket when needed. I just get a running start and level the bucket using the float function on the valve and away I go...We have gotten lots of snow this year. I don't see the need for chains BUT when I used to use an old Ford 3400 2wd...that is what I needed chains for.

 

[oldpilot]

I have a steep hill on the road side of our driveway. My previous tractor was a 1975 International Harvester 284 (actually a Japanese Bison with an American overcoat) with agricultural tires. It was useless on the hill even with chains. (The hill is asphalt, but more important after the first big snowfall is also packed snow/ice.) I now have a Mahindra of about the same horsepower. It too is useless on the hill. With both tractors I scoot right up with the plow raised, turn around, and plow downhill.

I had chains on both tractors. In theory they should work better on Mahindra Baba with her industrial tires, but in reality they don't. I suspect that, without the chains, the Baba would be marginally better because of more rubber on the road. But here in coastal New Hampshire, with so much "wintry mix," which ends in ice, no chains would mean no plowing, not with 25-28 horsepower.

The ag tires were definitely better in the woods in the springtime. When the ground is wet, that's when the turf tires really slip.

 

[LD48750]

I keep hearing how great turf tires are in snow but mine are useless.

Two link ladder chains on the front of my Ford 1510 & I am good to go.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[RoyJackson]

I keep hearing how great turf tires are in snow but mine are useless.

Two link ladder chains on the front of my Ford 1510 & I am good to go.

What am I doing wrong?View attachment 730755

Turfs are good in the snow, up to a point

 

[CobyRupert]

I think for effectiveness in snow, worse to best, it’s R4 construction, R1 ags, turf, chains.
I also suspect that in deeper snow, where your not clearing it, or compacting it enough that there are times R1 lugs beat the turf treads.
Or situations where the increased turf tire contact points can beat chains on a hard surface.

 

[Tony H]

I have been using turf tires without chains to plow my driveways for a number of years.
My driveways are pitched at least 10' over a couple of hundred feet of run.
I usually plow down hill, stay in 4wd, and try to not push my luck (no pun).
Do industrial tires offer less traction in the snow?
I see lots of people using chains and wonder if they really need them.
Just wondering what drove the use of chains?
TIA
Yooper Dave

Industry tires, in my opinion, can easily slip and then you got no traction. Maybe a bit less traction then AG tires. I find that snow traction depends heavily on temperatures. Very very cold and traction increases. You can hear the snow squeak. Closer to the freezing mark and snow get slippery. Just this year I bought chains. In the past, I had plenty of traction all winter
It was in the Spring that a late snow would cause all kinds of trouble on small slopes.